Posts Categorized: Wendy

This post is sponsored by HarperCollins. This does not affect the content of the review. Are you ready for this? It’s Veronica Roth’s new book! After bursting on the scene with Divergent, the author experienced meteoric success with her trilogy, which also resulted into some pretty enjoyable films. It’s been 3 years since Allegiant caused an avalanche of tears, so everyone is curious: does Carve the Mark live up to its predecessor? The short answer is: yes, if you enjoyed Divergent, you will enjoy this. For myself, I liked Carve the Mark overall, though I’m also left with some questions. Which is not unlike the experience I had with Divergent, for what it’s worth. Things I liked: — The powers are cool. To name a few: Cyra has Rogue-like powers (without that pesky “you can’t touch me” business), Akos can take pain from others, and another guy named Vas feels… Read more »

Today we’re hosting the exclusive cover reveal for The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee! I enjoyed the author’s debut This Monstrous Thing, and I’m a huge fan of her weekly #BygoneBadassBroads storytime on Twitter. She gives back so much to the YA community through education and enthusiasm, so I’m delighted to help unveil her upcoming historical novel. Friends, you are going to want to gaze adoringly into this book’s eyes and buy it dinner. It features pirates and villains and two rascally boys who are lifelong friends, but who are OH, also fighting their growing feelings for each other. *swoon* Mackenzi joins us today to talk about sowing wild oats, tackling historical fiction tropes, and being queer in the 17th century. Watch Mackenzi Lee Introduce The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue As Mackenzi says, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is the… Read more »

Today, I’m delighted to be hosting the final blog tour stop for Crooked Kingdom, the feverishly anticipated sequel to last year’s stunning Six of Crows. Leigh Bardugo is here to tell us how Kaz Brekker came to be, and then I’ll be telling you why I think he’s fantastic. We’re also giving away an amazing prize pack at the end, so stick around! Leigh Bardugo on Kaz Brekker’s Origin “When I first conceived of a character known as Dirtyhands, I thought I might put him in a folktale—this guy who would travel from town to town, doing terrible deeds and messing with dark magic for a price. He’d be a legend, but also reviled for what he was willing to do. I never wrote that story, but the character stuck with me, and eventually he became Kaz Brekker, the Bastard of the Barrel, the boy you never want to owe… Read more »

Last week, I was invited to a really fun event: a screening of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children + Tim Burton’s Handprint Ceremony! I was really excited to see the film after seeing the fantastic trailer, especially since I am excessively fond of Eva Green. I haven’t read the books yet, but I can’t imagine anyone more perfect to play Miss Peregrine. Even though I worked in movie publicity for a long time, I’d never been to a handprint ceremony before, so I was also interested to see what that would be like. (I always think of that old I Love Lucy episode with John Wayne, heh.) Mr. Darling and I got there early and were put into a press pen while we waited for everything to begin. There were a ton of journalists there, as well as a pretty big crowd of tourists. That’s typical for Hollywood and… Read more »

This is the funniest YA book I’ve read in years. YEARS. I laughed so hard as I was reading it, because the outrageous observations and pull-no-punches dialogue fly fast and furiously like a Gilmore Girl high on pie and coffee. The book is so freaking smart, with some surprisingly poignant moments near the end–as well as perfectly in tune with teenagers and their weird, obsessive world. I’ve never felt more affection for the fanfic culture and pop culture references and girl friendships and boy crazies than I did reading this book–it’s like FANGIRL without the manic pixie dream kids, starring one of my favorite YA girls in recent years. Scarlett is a fucking heroine. She’s all the teenage girls who passionately love all the things people make fun of her for, and she hands it back to them with a smart slam. (One of my favorite moments in the book… Read more »

This is where I would usually write an introduction about why you should check out Paula Stokes’ new book Girl Against the Universe, but honestly, her guest post does a brilliant job of that already! It’s a contemporary YA novel about a girl named Maguire who feels guilty for surviving a bad accident and has started to believe she might be the cause of anything bad that happens around her, and it’s a story that’s strong on friendships, parent/teen relationships, positive therapy experiences, and more. I think many readers can relate to being introverts, or feeling nervous in social situations, so I’m honored to have Paula here to talk about how fear can manifest in an anxiety like Maguire’s. She’s also generously offering up an autographed hardcover to our readers, so stick around for the giveaway at the end. Why Anxiety Does Not Make Us Weak by Paula Stokes I… Read more »

Rachel Hawkins is a long-time favorite of mine. Her books feel so funny and fresh, and her current Rebel Belle series features a girl who suddenly discovers supernatural powers that allow her to be a kickass guardian–but who was also raised to be a genteel southern belle. To complicate things further, the person she’s supposed to protect is her cute nemesis-turned-boyfriend David, who’s gone on the run and won’t let her protect him. What’s a girl to do? And will the aunts pack enough cookies for her road trip to find him? To celebrate the release of the last book of the series, we’re pleased to welcome Rachel Hawkins to blog today as part of the Lady Renegades tour! She’s here to talk about humor in young adult books, which came about in a roundabout way from a tweet from Rachel that sparked a conversation about why funny YA can… Read more »